Fairy Tale
by jfqzx
Summary: Knights don't always come in shining armour or with a white horse... Kirihara x Sakuno


**Fairy Tale**  
**Fandom:** Prince of Tennis  
**Characters:** Kirihara/Sakuno  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Knights don't always come in shining armour or with a white horse...  
Author's note: For **starianprincess**, as part of **love_salad**'s Xmas/New Year exchange '08

Once upon a time there lived a prince in a kingdom called Seishun. The prince's skill in swordsmanship was well-known throughout the land, and together with his youthful appearance, stole the hearts of many girls in the kingdom. However, despite his good looks and talents, the prince was also cold and arrogant, not to the extreme, but enough so that people tended to stay away from him.

In Seishun there also lived a girl, who like many of her peers, was enamoured of the prince. Because her grandmother was one of the prince's advisors, she was lucky to have grown up in the palace grounds, but they never really got close, as the prince pretty much closed himself up around company. But having grown up with him, she knew that the prince was indeed capable of showing emotions. The rare smile that appeared when he was with his closest friends and the warm affection he showed to his cat whenever he thought no one was looking inclined the girl to believe that the prince was simply misunderstood, and therefore she never stopped in her efforts to befriend him. However, her attempts often went in vain for aside from a few words exchanged here and there, he acted like she did not exist.

Now every spring there was a big jousting tournament held with knights from all around the land coming to participate. While the undefeated prince of Seishun was the favourite to win, it was also undeniable that the competition was growing fiercer each year. And during the prince's sixteenth year, the most formidable threat came from the kingdom of Rikkai. Now, Rikkai was no new opponent, having been the undisputed champion of the jousting tournament for three years straight until Seishun had an unexpected revival with the inauguration of a new team of strong fighters and return of the prince, who had just returned after having spent most of his childhood overseas. So Seishun claimed the victory from Rikkai, and had maintained the first place since then.

Yet despite their losses, Rikkai refused to concede defeat and that year they came back stronger and tougher than ever before.

One day, the girl was wandering around the grounds of the tournament hoping to catch a glimpse of the Seishun prince before the tournament – and perhaps she'd pluck up the courage to wish him luck as well she'd thought – but found herself getting lost in the sprawling area. To make things worse a group of lesser knights from one of the rival kingdoms found her and decided that they wanted a taste of local maiden. Though frightened, she managed to shove them away and ran into the forest surrounding the tournament grounds. She ran until she her sides ached, until she suddenly tripped over what appeared to be a log and fell down in a heap of tangled limbs onto the log, which turned out to be a young knight in black chain mail garb who had been taking a nap on the grass. Well, at least she assumed he was a knight because he had a sword strapped to his side. Annoyed, the young knight stared at her intensely, and she quickly backed away from him, stammering an apology.

Then, there was a rustle in the foliage and the knights who had been chasing her appeared. The girl was now stuck in between them and the knight she had woken up. Now she was really in trouble, she thought.

The lone knight glared at the new intruders. "Geez, can't you people just let a guy sleep in peace?"

"Let us have the girl and we will leave you be."

"Eh? You're with them?" the black knight looked from the girl to the group of three guys. His was about to let them have her when she turned to him and looked at him pleadingly and shook her head to say that she didn't want to go with them. She looked really terrified.

"Hm…well, it doesn't look like she doesn't want to go with you. In fact she kinda looks scared of you. Well, what do you say?"

The trio started to look nervous. One of them, presumable the 'leader' stepped forward, "H…her? You see, we were playing a game and she got lost. She got lost. That's why she's scared. But we've found her now… c'mon girl, let's go… hey ouch!" the guy exclaimed when the girl kicked him. He had tried to grab her hand.

"You bit--!" he cried and pushed the girl to the ground. "You're not getting away this time!" He raised his hand and swung it down to strike the girl, but before it could make impact, he cried out again as it had come into contact with something hard… the lone knight had blocked his blow with his sword, still encased in its sheath.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" the bully asked, glaring at the latter.

When the lone knight spoke next, his voice held an edge of danger to it. "I suggest you leave here at once."

The bully looked at him incredulously. "What's up with you? What's the girl to you anyway?"

"Nothing. But seeing thugs like you harassing an innocent girl makes me sick. Now leave before I get mad."

"Ooh, how scary." The bully laughed. "May I remind you that we outnumber you three to one?"

"So?" the knight asked nonchalantly.

"So he says! So!" The bully was hooting with laughter now and gestured to his two companions, "Look fellas, this guy here thinks he can take the three of us. Don't be so cocky, we're from Echigo, we're part of the elite."

"Echigo kingdom? If you're so elite then how come I've never heard of you huh?"

"What?? But we've been taking part every year!"

"You must be pretty bad then, since I've never encountered you before."

"How… how dare you!!" The bully spluttered. "I bet you're from somewhere even less heard of then, talking so big… I bet you're just a nobody, right guys?" His two companions nodded.

Instead of retreating, the black knight just smirked in response. "You guys don't know who you're talking to do you? It's no wonder… After all, you guys can only dream to reach us."

"Shut up! You're just some arrogant newbie who needs a lesson! You better watch what you say or I'll complain to your captain!"

"Hehe, I'd like to see you try, Yukimura-taichou won't probably even give you a second glance. That is, if you can even get past Sanada to get to him."

The mention of the names seemed to slowly register in the bullies' heads. "Wait," one of the lackeys said, "by Yukimura and Sanada, you don't mean…"

The lone knight grinned in a way that made the bullies feel uncomfortable, "You better hope and pray that you never meet Rikkai in tournament. We'll smash you." He then suddenly started laughing maniacally, a chilling sound that revibrated through the clearing. When he looked at the trio, his eyes were red, as if they were slightly bloodshot, and a dark aura surrounded him.

It was then the bullies realized. "Red… eyes… You… you're the demon of Rikkai!" one of the lackeys exclaimed. "The one who shows his opponents no mercy and fights as if possessed by a demon!"

"And I'll be happy to demonstrate my abilities if you care to stay~" the so-called demon knight smiled eerily.

"Um… no thanks!" the 'leader' of the trio stammered, "We've got to go and practice for the tournament! Come… Come on guys." With that, they turned and fled, with the demon knight laughing in their wake. When his laughter had subsided, he turned to help the girl, who he had not forgotten, up from the ground. She looked at his outstretched hand warily. "You're… the demo- no, Kirihara-san."

He was slightly taken aback when she called him by his name. "Yeah, and you should relax, I'm not going to eat you up, contrary to the popular belief."

"Ah… I'm sorry." She took his hand and hoisted herself up. "I was just surprised that's all. I mean, I didn't expect to meet anyone in the middle of the forest, let alone Kirihara-san… and for the record, you weren't that scary, I mean that laughing part was kinda creepy but aside from that you seem pretty normal to me…"

Kirhara stared at the girl, rendered speechless by her babbling… did she even breathe? It was nice that she was one of the few who thought he was normal. Even some of his own fellow knights from Rikkai who had known him wouldn't even said that.

"Hey, girl, slow down. And hey, you're hurt…"

She looked down at her knee which had been scraped slightly during her fall. "Ahh, I didn't notice! I need I need…" She started turning out her pockets for a handkerchief when she felt a pressure on her knee. Her unexpected saviour was wiping the wound with his own handkerchief, and then tied it around the injury.

"Don't worry about it." He said when she protested. "I don't need it anyway…"

"Um, thank you." She blushed awkwardly.

Suddenly, a gong sounded in the distance, signalling the starting of the tournament's first round. "Guess you better get back huh. Don't want to miss it right." Kirihara commented.

"And what about you?" The girl asked.

"I'm not up for awhile; I think I'll catch up with my sleep here first." He said wryly, referring to his previously interrupted nap. "Unless you need me to escort you back in case though ruffians show up again."

"Huh… no, I'll be fine." The girl said. "And thanks for you help! I'll be cheering you on later!"

No it was Kirihara's turn to blush. If his team-mates heard of it they'd probably tease him to no end. "Um, thanks. Hey, by the way, what's your name?" He called out to her- she had already started to walk off."

"Sakuno."

"Sakuno what?" He asked but she was already too far too hear him. He couldn't help but smile slightly. "Sakuno huh? Pretty name."

…  
Little did both of Kirahara and Sakuno know that they'd be seeing each other much more in the future…

"And that is how the demon of Rikkai met the girl who would change his life forever. The end." Ryuuzaki Sakuno, no Kirihara Sakuno smiled as planted a kiss on the foreheads of the two children on the bed before her. "Now the two of you should go to sleep."

"But mommy, you didn't tell the whole story! You missed out the part where the part where Sakuno went to return the handkerchief to the demon knight!" four-year-old Sakura said, tugging on her mother's sleeve.

"And you didn't tell the part about the joust!" Sakura's twin brother, Sakuya pouted.

"That's because it's already way past your bedtime, and your daddy will be cross if he comes back to find out the two of you aren't asleep. Now, if you both behave, I'll tell you the whole story tomorrow alright?"

"Ok! Good night mommy." The twins chorused, and made a show of closing their eyes to sleep.

"Good night you two." Sakuno smiled, turning off the bedside light, and walked out of the room.

"Those two never that sick of hearing that silly story do they?"

Sakuno jumped at the voice that seemed to appear out of nowhere. She turned to find her husband standing in the corridor. "Hey, you're back." She beamed, "And it's not a silly story. Its how we met after all…"

Kirihara Akaya sighed. "I know I know, but do you really have to jazz it up with knights and all that stuff? Is high-school tennis not cool enough for you?"

"Well… I thought it sounded more romantic…" Sakuno pouted.

"Are you saying I'm not romantic enough?"

"Huh, what… no! I didn't mean that I just…" Sakuno was starting to blabber again and Kirihara shut her up with a kiss which caused her to blush furiously. "Akaya!" She exclaimed. "The kids…"

"Are sleeping." He grinned wolfishly. "But if you're so worried…" He scooped her up in his arms, "perhaps we should take this somewhere else."

And to rather half-hearted protests, the demon knight carried his princess to their bedroom and proceeded to show her the reason – well part of the reason – why she had come to fall in love with him.

The End.


End file.
